Denise Crosby

Denise Michelle Crosby (born November 24, 1957) is an American actress and model known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar mainly in season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Yar's daughter, the half-Romulan Commander Sela, in subsequent seasons. She is also known for her numerous film and television roles and for starring in and producing the 1997 film Trekkies.

Early life Denise Crosby's paternal grandfather was Bing Crosby and her father was Bing's son, Dennis Crosby.

Crosby graduated in 1975 from Hollywood High School, followed by Cabrillo College, where she studied theater. She dropped out of college after she was interviewed by a local paper and revealed her famous family background: "One of the drama teachers used the story to illustrate to the class that this crap is what Hollywood's all about, using people's names to get somewhere. I was very, very hurt by it. So I just checked out." She started modeling and in 1979, posed nude for the March issue of Playboy magazine, which she called "some kind of rebellion on my part, some way of saying screw you to the family image".

Career Crosby's choice of career solidified at an early age and was influenced by her grandfather Bing Crosby and her father Dennis Crosby. Crosby's first high-profile role was as Lisa Davis on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. She has appeared as Dr. Gretchen Kelley in three episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and as a sheriff on The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. episode "No Man's Land".

In the early 1990s, she played the role of the mayor in the short-lived series Key West. She also appeared in two episodes of the cable television series Red Shoe Diaries, playing a different character in each episode. Crosby had a small, recurring role in Aaron Spelling's primetime drama, Models Inc, a spin-off from Melrose Place. She was a guest star on the eighth season of The X-Files for two episodes, in which she plays a doctor who examined Agent Scully's baby. In 1991, she was a guest star in "The Deadly Nightshade", a first-season The Flash episode as Dr. Rebecca Frost.

In 2001, Crosby appeared in two episodes of NYPD Blue as the abrasive Lieutenant Susan Dalto. In 2006, she was a guest star in "Popping Cherry", the third episode of the first season of Dexter, appearing via flashback as Dexter Morgan's first victim. Crosby had a recurring role in Southland as Detective Dan "Sal" Salinger's wife.

One of her first film appearances was in the 1982 Nick Nolte/Eddie Murphy film 48 Hrs. This was followed by a small role in the 1982 film Trail of the Pink Panther, which she reprised in the sequel Curse of the Pink Panther. In 1985, Crosby appeared in the music videos for Chris Isaak's song "Dancin'" and Michael McDonald's song "No Lookin' Back". In 1986, she appeared in the music video for Black Sabbath's song "No Stranger to Love". In the same year, she played a robotics engineer, Nora Hunter, in the science-fiction movie Eliminators. She starred in Stephen King's Pet Sematary, played the lead role in Dolly Dearest in 1991, and also appeared in Deep Impact and Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. Her other film roles included the 2002 Western horror film Legend of the Phantom Rider, and the 2005 Tobe Hooper horror film Mortuary.

Star Trek

In 1987, Crosby was cast in the role of Tasha Yar for the much-publicized return of Star Trek to television in the syndicated series Star Trek: The Next Generation. She had been chosen to play Counselor Deanna Troi before Gene Roddenberry switched the role to Marina Sirtis. Initially one of the top-billed characters and featured prominently in episodes such as "The Naked Now" and "Code of Honor", the role of Tasha gradually moved into the background as other members of the ensemble cast became a greater focus of the series. Crosby reportedly grew disillusioned with her role because of its "Uhura-like" status: "I was struggling with not being able to do much with the character. I had all these ideas and couldn't do them. I was just stage dressing." Ultimately, Crosby decided to leave the show. Her character was killed by the alien creature Armus during the episode "Skin of Evil". She had appeared in 22 episodes when she left.

In later years, Crosby approached the TNG production team with the idea of reprising her role of Tasha Yar. This came to be in season-three's "Yesterday's Enterprise", in which an alternate timeline is created after the USS Enterprise-C, the predecessor to TNG's USS Enterprise-D, comes forward 22 years in time, just before it was to be destroyed. Yar joined the Enterprise-C before it returned to its own time to restore the original timeline. During the documentary Trekkies, Crosby commented that her Tasha Yar character had to die to get "the best episodes".

Crosby also guest-starred in several other TNG episodes, including "Redemption" and "Unification" as Romulan Commander Sela, the half-human, half-Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar, who had been taken prisoner in the past while on board the Enterprise-C. Crosby later reprised the role in the Star Trek: Armada video game and played Tasha again in the series finale, "All Good Things...", in which Captain Picard is moving back and forth through time and encounters Tasha during the events just prior to the pilot episode.

Crosby co-produced and narrated the 1997 documentary Trekkies, followed by the 2003 sequel Trekkies 2. Both films star Crosby, who conducts interviews with devotees of Star Trek, more commonly known as "Trekkies". , she was reportedly working on a sequel called Trekkies 3.

Along with other Star Trek actors, she has also appeared in the "Blood and Fire" episode of the fan-produced series Star Trek: New Voyages, playing Dr. Jenna Yar (grandmother of Tasha Yar).

In 2013, Crosby provided voicing for the characters of Tasha Yar and Sela in the Cryptic Studios MMORPG Star Trek Online. Crosby became the first of a new wave of several Star Trek alumni to return to the roles they originated since Leonard Nimoy's participation at the game's launch in 2010.

Post-Star Trek work In January and February 2010, Crosby performed alongside Gale Harold and ex-model Claudia Mason in Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending at Theater in Los Angeles. The production and cast received mostly positive reviews in the Los Angeles Times, which stated, "Harold, ideally cast, beautifully ignites with Crosby, whose unconventional interpretation is an affecting revelation."

Crosby has a recurring role on Showtime's 2013 series Ray Donovan. In 2014, she appeared in three episodes of AMC's The Walking Dead as Mary, a member of a group of cannibals. The character first appears in the penultimate episode of season four, "Us", and made her final appearance in the season-five premiere, "No Sanctuary".

Crosby also played the role of widow Margie Curtis in the TV series Bones, season three, episode four, "The Secret in the Soil". She played the role of Special Master Faye Richardson in the legal drama Suits in its final season.

Personal life Crosby was married to Geoffrey Edwards, son of director Blake Edwards, from 1983 to 1990. She appeared in a number of her former father-in-law's films, including 10, Skin Deep, Trail of the Pink Panther, and Curse of the Pink Panther.

Crosby married Ken Sylk in 1995. They have a son.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1979 10 Party Guest Uncredited role 1982 Trail of the Pink Panther Denise, Bruno's Moll 48 Hrs. Sally 1983 Curse of the Pink Panther Denise The Man Who Loved Women Enid 1985 Desert Hearts Pat 1986 Eliminators Nora Hunter 1988 Greasy Lake Bad Girl #2 Direct-to-video Arizona Heat Jill Andrews Miracle Mile Landa 1989 Skin Deep Angie Pet Sematary Rachel Creed Tennessee Waltz Sally Lomas 1991 High Strung Melanie Dolly Dearest Marilyn Wade 1993 Mafia Docks/Desperate Crimes Bella Blu Italian title: Il ritmo del silenzio 1994 Max Jayne Blake Relative Fear Connie Madison 1995 Mutant Species Carol-Anne Dream Man Barbara Direct-to-video 1997 Executive Power Christine Rolands Jackie Brown Public Defender Uncredited role 1998 Deep Impact Vicky Hotchner Divorce: A Contemporary Western Kay 2002 Legend of the Phantom Rider Sarah Jenkins 2003 The Bus Stops Here Chatty Woman at Bus Stop Short film 2005 Mortuary Leslie Doyle 2007 Ripple Effect Ronald's Wife Uncredited role Born Catherine 2012 Birth Mother Detective Johnson Short film 2013 The Exterminator Linda 2015 Dark Intentions Beth's Motheraka Don't Wake Mummy 2017 Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary Herself Documentary film 2019 Itsy Bitsy Sheriff Jane

Television Year Title Role Notes 1980 Days of Our Lives Lisa Davis 3 episodes 1983 Cocaine: One Man's Seduction Teller Television film 1985 My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn Diana Dyrenforth Stark Kim Parker Malice in Wonderland Carole Lombard 1986 The Family Martinez Rachael McCann L.A. Law Joan Turtletaub Episode: "Gibbon Take" 1987 Ohara Rachel Winters Episode: "Laura" 1987–1994 Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant Tasha Yar 26 episodes Sela 3 episodes + 1 Voice only episode 1989 Mancuso, F.B.I. Toni Simmons Episode: "I Cover the Waterfront" 1991 WIOU Unknown role Episode: "Labored Relations" Hunter Pam Sutton Episode: "All That Glitters" The Flash Dr. Rebecca Frost Episode: "The Deadly Nightshade" Dark Justice Christina Forbes Episode: "Forbes for the Defense" 1992 Jack's Place Lindsay Episode: "Everything Old is New Again" 1992–1994 Red Shoe Diaries Officer Lynn "Mona" McCabe / The Psychiatrist Episodes: "You Have The Right to Remain Silent", "The Psychiatrist" 1993 Civil Wars Gwen Leary Episode: "Captain Kangaroo Court" Key West Chaucy Caldwell 13 episodes Johnny Bago Dr. Candace David Episode: "Hail the Conquering Marrow" The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Sheriff Jenny Taylor Episode: "No Man's Land" 1994 Models Inc. Ursula Edwards Episode: "Good Girls Finish Last" 1994–1995 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Dr. Gretchen Kelley 3 episodes 1995–1996 Diagnosis: Murder Didi Harris / Cynthia Holling 3 episodes 1996 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Isabelle Maynard Episode: "Fear Itself" 1997 Baywatch Emily Morgan Episode: "Rendezvous" 1998 Spy Game Chrysalis Episode: "Go, Girl" Pumpkin Man Laurel Hollway Television short film Chance of a Lifetime Katie Television film 1999 The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds... It Leads Mrs. Muller 2000 Snoops Evelyn Houtch Episode: "The Stolen Diskette" Family Law Doris Collins Episode: "For Love" 2001 The Drew Carey Show Officer Hayes Episode: "The Warsaw Closes" NYPD Blue Lieutenant Susan Dalto Episodes: "Thumb Enchanted Evening", "Flight of Fancy" The X-Files Dr. Mary Speake Episodes: "Empedocles", "Essence" Judging Amy Mrs. Nasretian Episode: "Look Closer" 2002 JAG Mrs. Dietz Episode: "Capital Crime" The Division Alison Tisdale Episode: "This Thing Called Love" The Agency Detective Reidy Episode: "Sleeping Dogs Lie" 2003 Threat Matrix Gillian Sadler Episode: "Cold Cash" 2004 Crossing Jordan Carla Moran Episode: "Fire from the Sky" 2005 Eyes Justine Canning Episode: "Shots" 2006 Dexter Nurse Mary Episode: "Popping Cherry" 2007 Bones Margie Curtis Episode: "The Secret in the Soil" 2008 Mad Men Gertie Episodes: "For Those Who Think Young", "The Benefactor" Prison Break Doctor Episode: "Going Under" 2009 Family Guy Herself Episode: "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" 2009–2010 Southland Susan Salinger 3 episodes 2011 Law & Order: LA Diana Burt Episode: "Big Rock Mesa" 2013 Invasion Roswell Linda Television film 2013–2017 Ray Donovan Deb 15 episodes 2014 The Walking Dead Mary(Seasons 4–5) 3 episodes 2015 Scandal Janet Holland Episode: "Even the Devil Deserves a Second Chance" 2016 The Magicians Genji Episode: "Mendings, Major and Minor" Castle Dr. Marion Baker Episode: "Death Wish" The Watcher Jeanne Television film 2019 NCIS: Los Angeles Tisha Long Episode: "The One That Got Away", "The Guardian" Suits Faye Richardson Recurring Role; Season 9 2021 Creepshow Professor Trollenberg Season 2, Episode 4: Pipe Screams/Within The Walls Of Madness 2022 NCIS SECNAV Hattie Taylor Season 19, Episode 10: "Pledge of Allegiance" General Hospital Carolyn Webber Guest role; October 31–November 2, 2022 & January 20-February 3, 2023

Producer Year Title Role Notes 1997 Trekkies Co-executive producer 2004 Trekkies 2 Executive producer

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2000 Star Trek: Armada Sela Voice role 2010 Star Trek Online Lieutenant Tasha Yar / Sela Voice roleUncredited role 2017XCOM 2: War of the ChosenBetosVoice role

Web series